1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a chip card device, more particularly to a chip card device, in which a read/write function thereof can be switched controlledly.
2. Description of the Related Art
A chip card is generally used for data storage by virtue of a chip therein, and the chip is encapsulated in an insulative material for carrying purposes. Chip cards can be divided into contactless chip cards and contact-type chip cards. Among the contactless chip cards, a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag is the most popular. The RFID tag includes a chip and a coil connected to the chip, and is sandwiched between two plastic sheets. When a magnetic field generated by a card reader passes the coil, the RFID tag is powered by a current induced by the magnetic field, thereby allowing data in the RFID tag to be read and/or written. The RFID tag is widely used in many fields, such as logistics, door security systems, identity verifications, counting, vending, etc. A user of the RFID tag (the contactless chip card) might access various card readers in daily life, and thus, the data in the RFID tag might be read and/or written unexpectedly.
In order to prevent an unexpected operation of the contactless chip cards, some of the contactless chip cards are provided with a switch mechanism. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a chip card 7 disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,863,220 includes two insulative substrates 71, a chip 72 disposed between the insulative substrates 71, a contact pad 73 disposed between the insulative substrates 71, two cushions 74 disposed between the insulative substrates 71 and at two opposite sides of the contact pad 73, a conductor wire 75 disposed on the cushions 74, and a coil 76 disposed between the insulative substrates 71. The contact pad 73 is electrically conductive, and is electrically connected to the chip 72. Two opposite ends of the coil 76 are electrically connected to the chip 72 and the conductor wire 75, respectively. In a normal state, the conductor wire 75 disposed on the cushions 74 is spaced apart from the contact pad 73, and thus, the coil 76 is not in a closed loop state (see FIG. 2). Accordingly, data in the chip 72 cannot be read and written in the normal state. When the chip card 7 is in a use state, the conductor wire 75 is pressed to contact the contact pad 73 such that the coil 76 is in the closed loop state, and thus, the data in the chip 72 can be read and written in the use state (see FIG. 3).
A contact type chip card, such as an ATM card, includes a chip embedded in a plastic material, and a plurality of electrodes electrically connected to chip legs of the chip, respectively. When the ATM card is in use, a card reader is placed in direct contact with the electrodes to read and write data in the chip. Nowadays, a funds transfer through the internet can be conducted at home by connecting the card reader with a computer. When conducting the funds transfer, for safety certification, the ATM card is required to be pulled out from the card reader, followed by re-inserting into the card reader. However, when the reinsertion of the ATM card is not conducted properly, it will result in transfer failure. Therefore, the funds transfer through the internet is still not stable and is inconvenient.